Man pleads guilty to criminal sexual assault

URBANA — An Urbana man who admitted having sexual contact with a girl under the age of 18 faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced next month.

James Lee Kimble, 58, of the 1300 block of South Lierman Avenue, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Champaign County Circuit Court to a single count of criminal sexual assault, admitting that sometime during September or October of 2013 he had sex with the girl against her will.

Assistant State's Attorney Scott Bennett said the girl told police that Kimble sexually molested her almost daily in his home and his van for about a year before the matter came to the attention of authorities in early January. Bennett said Kimble admitted to police that he had sex with the girl. He said he was allowing her to work off a debt that he had paid on her behalf.

In return for his plea to a single count, two other counts of criminal sexual assault alleging different kinds of conduct on different dates were dismissed.